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Summer Projects for the Whole Family

By allEn haynEs

Summer in Gainesville is the perfect setting for creating lasting family memories. There are backyard barbecues, Gator baseball games and arguments over those reading lists the kiddos promise they’ve already finished. But summer is also a time to finish those projects you’ve been meaning to do since Christmas.

Here are some fun projects that will make this summer your most productive yet!

refresh the kids’ room with the perfect accent wall

Odds are if you have children, they’ve used your home’s beautiful walls as canvasses to jump-start their art career. Turn that mischief into family fun with a fresh coat of creativity that also gives their room a facelift.

First, paint the room in a neutral color such as white or taupe. Then buy some smaller cans of primary color paint like blue, yellow and red. Help your little ones mix colors and sketch out a fun design before painting it on one of the bedroom or playroom walls. This accent wall will give them a sense of room pride, expand their creativity and give you major street cred on the playground.

have a closet cleanup fashion show

At least once a year, it’s a good idea to sort through your closets and donate clothes your family doesn’t, can’t and shouldn’t wear anymore - we’re looking at you, Dad, with those MC Hammer

pants. They are never coming back in style. Let it go.

But now this mundane chore can be an exciting tradition by adding a fashion show to the equation. After the family has decided what to donate, have everyone put on as many of the items as they can. Then take a family photo, frame it and put it in your living room.

Not only have you made room for the incoming back-to-school clothes, you’ve also made a huge donation to our community and - almost as important - created a brand new conversation piece when relatives and friends visit.

Have you tackled some awesome household projects with your kiddos? We'd love to hear about it! send a photo and short description of your family project to dana@irvingpublications.com and you might just see your family on our Facebook page! Create a backyard pet paradise! Help Fido stay cool this summer with a new doghouse made from pallet wood. In addition to a pallet, you’ll need a handsaw, screwdriver and wood screws. sTeP 1: After removing the planks, lay Remember to put the house under the tree with the most shade! Giggle Ti p! three sets of six side-by-side. These will be the walls and roof.

sTeP 2: Cut three of the pallet’s support beams in half and attach one to both the far left and right sides of each wall. sTeP 3: Stand two walls up and lay the third fl at on top. This is your roof. sTeP 4: Use screws to secure the roof to the support beams.

sTeP 5: Use leftover paint from the kids’ room project to give Fido’s shade palace some character.

 Other fun and easy projects!

*Clean out and organize your garage. Have a yard sale for items you no longer need/want and use the money earned for a pizza and movie night. *remove the glass from an old frame, give the frame a new coat of paint and nail it to your door around the peep hole.